Post by Die Fledermaus on Mar 13, 2008 22:45:19 GMT -4
March 13. 1942 : U.S. Army launches K-9 Corps
On this day in 1942, the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) of the United
States Army begins training dogs for the newly established War Dog
Program, or "K-9 Corps."
Well over a million dogs served on both sides during World War I,
carrying messages along the complex network of trenches and providing
some measure of psychological comfort to the soldiers. The most famous
dog to emerge from the war was Rin Tin Tin, an abandoned puppy of
German war dogs found in France in 1918 and taken to the United
States, where he made his film debut in the 1922 silent film The Man
from Hell's River. As the first bona fide animal movie star, Rin Tin
Tin made the little-known German Shepherd breed famous across the
country.
In the United States, the practice of training dogs for military
purposes was largely abandoned after World War I. When the country
entered World War II in December 1941, the American Kennel Association
and a group called Dogs for Defense began a movement to mobilize dog
owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster
Corps of the U.S. Army. Training began in March 1942, and that fall
the QMC was given the task of training dogs for the U.S. Navy, Marines
and Coast Guard as well.
The K-9 Corps initially accepted over 30 breeds of dogs, but the list
was soon narrowed to seven: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs,
Doberman Pinschers, collies, Siberian Huskies, Malumutes and Eskimo
dogs. Members of the K-9 Corps were trained for a total of 8 to 12
weeks. After basic obedience training, they were sent through one of
four specialized programs to prepare them for work as sentry dogs,
scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or mine-detection dogs. In active
combat duty, scout dogs proved especially essential by alerting
patrols to the approach of the enemy and preventing surprise attacks.
The top canine hero of World War II was Chips, a German Shepherd who
served with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Trained as a sentry dog,
Chips broke away from his handlers and attacked an enemy machine gun
nest in Italy, forcing the entire crew to surrender. The wounded Chips
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and the
Purple Heart--all of which were later revoked due to an Army policy
preventing official commendation of animals.
newsletters.aetv.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/eboH0JbbXQ0B6y0TSJ0EX
On this day in 1942, the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) of the United
States Army begins training dogs for the newly established War Dog
Program, or "K-9 Corps."
Well over a million dogs served on both sides during World War I,
carrying messages along the complex network of trenches and providing
some measure of psychological comfort to the soldiers. The most famous
dog to emerge from the war was Rin Tin Tin, an abandoned puppy of
German war dogs found in France in 1918 and taken to the United
States, where he made his film debut in the 1922 silent film The Man
from Hell's River. As the first bona fide animal movie star, Rin Tin
Tin made the little-known German Shepherd breed famous across the
country.
In the United States, the practice of training dogs for military
purposes was largely abandoned after World War I. When the country
entered World War II in December 1941, the American Kennel Association
and a group called Dogs for Defense began a movement to mobilize dog
owners to donate healthy and capable animals to the Quartermaster
Corps of the U.S. Army. Training began in March 1942, and that fall
the QMC was given the task of training dogs for the U.S. Navy, Marines
and Coast Guard as well.
The K-9 Corps initially accepted over 30 breeds of dogs, but the list
was soon narrowed to seven: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs,
Doberman Pinschers, collies, Siberian Huskies, Malumutes and Eskimo
dogs. Members of the K-9 Corps were trained for a total of 8 to 12
weeks. After basic obedience training, they were sent through one of
four specialized programs to prepare them for work as sentry dogs,
scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or mine-detection dogs. In active
combat duty, scout dogs proved especially essential by alerting
patrols to the approach of the enemy and preventing surprise attacks.
The top canine hero of World War II was Chips, a German Shepherd who
served with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Trained as a sentry dog,
Chips broke away from his handlers and attacked an enemy machine gun
nest in Italy, forcing the entire crew to surrender. The wounded Chips
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and the
Purple Heart--all of which were later revoked due to an Army policy
preventing official commendation of animals.
newsletters.aetv.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/eboH0JbbXQ0B6y0TSJ0EX
The Communists also would run prisoners (humans) into minefields to "detect" the mines. 
